NEW YORK - It's no joke. Times Square's Naked Cowboy will run for U.S. president in 2012.

The cowboy -- whose real name is Robert Burck -- eschewed his trademark hat, boots and Fruit of the Loom underwear for the press conference announcing the bid Wednesday, sporting instead a sombre blue suit and a red power tie.

His partner, Cindy Fox (a.k.a. the Naked Cowgirl) stood by his side.

"I am not a Republican, I am not a Democrat, I am an American," he told the media gathered in - where else - Times Square.

"And it is my goal and intention to lead the (ultra-conservative) Tea Party to the office of the presidency."

Burck has become a sort of human tourist attraction in the Big Apple. He's spent the last 10 years playing guitar in his underwear under the bright lights and billboards of Times Square.

But all this time, behind the well-muscled physique hid a man with a passion for politics and the writings of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Burck's campaign promises include forcing welfare recipients to take random drug tests, reversing President Barack Obama's health-care legislation, ramping up the war on terror and building up the U.S. military.

"My entire platform and all of my policies and decisions will be organized so as to achieve a much smaller, fiscally responsible, decentralized federal government, a robust economy run strictly on free market principles, and the strongest national defence on Earth," he said in a statement on his website.

It's not Burck's first run at politics. In 2009, he attempted to run against Michael Bloomberg for mayor of New York, but later dropped out.